There’s nothing worse in poker than being bluffed out of a hand which you should have won. A person who gets bluffed not only loses the pot, but with each time it happens loses also a little respect from others at the table. For this reason, a lot of poker players will start calling everything just to avoid getting bluffed. This is problematic because players are going to run into a good hand far more often than they will catch a bluff – and this results in some major losses! In order to avoid becoming the person who loses tons of money trying to catch bluffers, check out these tips. 

One of the easiest ways to catch a bluffing opponent is by looking at their betting patterns over an entire hand. If the opponent is making reasonable bets at each stage of a hand, then starts pouring money into the pot after a good card hits the board, there is a good chance that their hand is legitimate.

 

However, someone who is bluffing usually displays erratic betting patterns, throwing out huge wagers when the board shows nothing. For example, if a person only called the pre-flop bet that was made, and then makes a huge wager after a flop of 9-4-2, there is a solid chance that they are trying to scare everyone out of the pot with their big bets. If you are one-on-one with a bluffer in a situation like this, call them if it isn’t too expensive. 

For good reason, common poker strategy preaches to study opponents at the table. You’ll need this information to help you make any move in the game, but you’ll also need it to catch a person when they are bluffing. The more info on an opponent’s tendencies you’ve collected, the more likely you are to know when he is trying to make a bluff.

 

When studying this information, pay special attention to things like the aforementioned hand betting patterns, wagering patterns over a series of hands, how often the opponent stays past each street, and what kinds of cards they take to the showdown. It will take some time after entering the game to figure out everyone else’s game plan, but it is essential to do this. 

After being at the table for a certain amount of time, you can usually tell what personality the table has taken due to the players in the game. For instance, if everyone is making huge raises and re-raises, and lots of players are going to the river, you’re in a loose game. On the other hand, if people are rarely betting out, players are checking frequently, and very few people are going to the river, then you are in a tight game.

 

In tight games, you are going to have to catch bluffers on your own a lot more often; in loose games, you’ll have the luxury of being able to fold in the early going, yet still see which players bluff and which ones don’t. If you’re in a loose game, fold the hand and let someone else call rather than wasting your own money to find out the hard way that someone was bluffing you. This can be a cheap way to get this information so you’ll have it the next time you’re in that situation. 

Too many players ignore the board, when they think they’ve caught a bluffer only to find out the hard way that the hand was legitimate. For instance, let’s say you’ve got top pair (K-K) but think that your opponent has absolutely nothing. The only problem is that the board reads Kh-Qh-10s-Jd-4h; so not only do you have a strong possibility of an ace-high straight, but you’ve also got a flush opportunity out there too.

 

Even if your opponent has been playing extremely loose the entire game, you’ve got to fold this hand just due to the fact that two better hand options exist. About the only time you would call any bets in this situation is if the game is low limit, and the size of the call isn’t much. But you still may be wasting your money.